Maybe all the hype about the INEOS takeover of football operations at Manchester United is entirely justified. It is starting to feel like a totally different era from the Ed Woodward days. First Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee was inked and announced. And now Lille central defender Leny Yoro is on his way.
The transfer fee, and also apparently, now the personal terms, have been agreed.
?? Manchester United have booked travel and medical tests for Leny Yoro!
Plan ready after agreement reached with Lille last week for €50m fixed fee plus €12m add-ons.
There’s still work needed to get the deal done, Man United now confident as @David_Ornstein reports. pic.twitter.com/6RvVeV6scr
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 17, 2024
As you can see from the tweet above, made by the world’s leading football transfer journalist, and citing the guy who is probably number two in this regard, there are just a couple more steps and then this deal will be over the line- a medical examination of Leny Yoro and the signing of paperwork.
The online grassroots campaign of United supporters, who called for Leny Yoro to spurn Real Madrid and come to United, have had their wishes granted.
Serious clubs get their transfer business done early in the window, and United are finally acting like that kind of club. But with the 18-year-old center back coming over from Lille, where does that leave Old Trafford’s pursuit of Jarrad Branthwaite and/or Matthijs de Ligt?
United remain interested, but it is highly unlikely they would sign both of their remaining targets.
It is possible they still might sign one of them however.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.